Contemporary Socially Engaged Art Practice in Ireland: Modalities and Counter-Narratives

Written by a combination of emerging, mid-career and established socially engaged art practitioners, the transdisciplinary essays in this timely and innovative volume illuminate a diverse range of thematic, theoretical and methodological concerns, situated across multi-localities, constituencies and transnational trajectories. Spanning interdisciplinary art forms across the visual and creative arts, the various contributors to the book collectively reflect on social, cultural and political transformations unfolding across Ireland. These reflections extend outward, revealing resonances with wider international contexts and discourses, in critical dialogue with key theoretical and methodological debates underpinning the global proliferation of socially engaged art practices since the early 2000s, often situated outside traditional arts institutions and embedded across diverse field sites, communities of interest and jurisdictions. Topics explored in the book include migration and cultural diversity; climate change, Anthropocene and spatial justice; inner-city youth identity, inequality and power relations; rural landscapes and the Gaeltacht; gender and reproductive rights; institutional abuse and perpetrator trauma; architectural design and intellectual disability; social and spatial relations within globalised systems; Traveller representation; mentoring and archival practices; radical care, activism, organising and collectives; transnational networks of solidarity; and para-institutional spaces for cooperative learning. By situating socially engaged art (SEA) practices within a matrix of shifting political realities, community knowledges and evolving cultural narratives, this volume contributes to a deeper understanding of the complexities and multifaceted landscape of socially engaged art practices in Ireland. It further serves to affirm the merit of artist-authored practice-led scholarship in capturing textually the nuances of collaborative and participatory methodologies.

The readership for this volume extends beyond established scholars and practitioners in the field to include undergraduate and postgraduate students, alongside socially engaged artists seeking critical reflection on their own practice. The book’s integration of theoretical and practice-based perspectives makes it a primary teaching resource for dedicated socially engaged courses, with relevance to broader interdisciplinary curricula across the visual and creative arts.

Contemporary Socially Engaged Art Practice in Ireland: Modalities and Counter-Narratives is a publication collaboration between the Centre for Socially Engaged Practice-Based Research, TU Dublin and Create, the national development agency for collaborative arts and Fire Station Artists’ Studios.

Alan Grossman is Director of the Centre for Socially Engaged Practice-Based Research School of Media, TU Dublin. He has a longstanding creative practice involvement with the cultural politics of identity, migration and diasporic formations across infra and transnational contexts, ranging from the perspective of the minority Welsh-language resistance movement in Wales, Kurdish refugee music in Scotland (Silent Song (2000)), to his co-directed documentary films Here To Stay (2006) and Promise and Unrest (2010) on the topic of global care work. He has published in numerous refereed journals, including Space and Culture, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies and Crossings: Journal of Migration and Culture and Journal of Media Practice, together with delivering keynotes in international conferences across the fields of media, cultural and migration studies, documentary film and visual anthropology. He is co-editor with Áine O’Brien of a combined book/DVD titled Projecting Migration: Transcultural Documentary Practice (2008, Wallflower/Columbia University Press).  

Anthony Haughey is an artist, photographer and writer whose socially engaged practice critically examines community, memory and contested histories. Working collaboratively with individuals and groups, his art works unfold durationally, creating spaces for dialogue, reflection and collective agency. Drawing on documentary traditions while challenging their conventions, Haughey’s work addresses urgent social issues including migration, inequality and the legacies of conflict. His practice spans photography, video, installation and participatory methodologies, frequently developed in partnership with communities, cultural organisations and educational institutions. He lectures in the School of Media at TU Dublin, where he contributes to research and teaching in socially engaged art, visual culture and expanded documentary practices. Haughey’s artworks have been widely exhibited in galleries, museums, biennials and are represented in major international collections. His publications, exhibitions, and long-term projects have established him as a significant voice in contemporary socially engaged art. 

Helen Carey is Director of National Sculpture Factory, Cork and an independent curator of Visual Arts. Previously, she was Director of Fire Station Artists’ Studios, Dublin, Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris, Limerick City Gallery of Art, Galway Arts Centre and Public Art Project Manager, At Bristol Regeneration Project.  As an independent Visual Arts curator, Helen’s recent public art projects and exhibitions include the Choctaw Nation / Irish Government Public Art commission project (2024) in Oklahoma, US and curator, TULCA Festival of Visual Art 2020, Galway. Awards include Arts Council 1916 commemoration in the Curation of the Souvenir Shop by Rita Duffy, Projects Award for 1913 Lockout commemoration. Major exhibitions curated include Michael Warren, Mark Curran, Siobhan McDonald and Brian Duggan.  With postgraduate degrees in International Relations (UCD) and in Visual Arts Practices (IADT), Helen’s research interests include contemporary culture and national identity and cultural characteristics of counter terrorism approaches. 

Ailbhe Murphy was a visual artist, researcher and Director of Create (2015–22), the national development agency for collaborative arts in Ireland, where she was responsible for the organisational strategy and programme, which traversed research and learning initiatives, advocacy, professional development, commissions and project opportunities. She led the EU funded Collaborative Arts Partnership Programme (CAPP 2014–18). In 2007, along with Ciaran Smyth,  she co-founded Vagabond Reviews as an interdisciplinary, socially engaged art and research platform, integrating collaborative modes of knowledge production with exhibition approaches. Selective Vagabond Reviews projects include (In)Visible Labour Factorium (2014); Scientia Civitatis: Missing Titles (2015); and Temporary Institute One: The Bio-Archives (2015). In 2021, Vagabond Reviews developed new work on the intersection of political theory, investigative aesthetics, photography and installation titled Emergency Knowledge: An Archive of Spectral Epistemologies. Based at Fire Station Artists’ Studios (2023–4), Vagabond Reviews refined the conceptual architecture and collaborative approach of Emergency Knowledge, culminating in the exhibition Emergency Knowledge: The Missing Archives (2024).